Hello again
by Plantress
Summary: A distracted Nozumi Rui is more distracted than anything else when she wanders into an old friend's store, but she's glad she did. [OC-centric]


A/N: My three main Haikyuu OC are Maya, Kasumi, and Rui, the character here. Her's was actually the first story I wrote, but I've been lazy about posting it here until now. I do pair her with Ukai, but I wouldn't consider this a romantic fic. She and Ukai are just friends here. I'll probably do another fic, where that starts changing for them.

Maybe I should upload the stories for one of my Diamond no Ace OCs too.

Also, I want to give a huge thanks to everyone who's supporting these fics of mine! It's really encouraging!

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Be careful on your way home, Sensei! And good luck with your errands!"

"Be careful yourself," Nozumi Rui called after her student as she ran towards the school track and got a wave in response. She turned back toward the school gates, a small genuine smile on her face. Finally, finally she was beginning to feel like she was connecting with her students. Apparently they didn't realize that she was still trying to get this whole teaching thing figured out. She just hoped she could keep faking that confidence until it actually turned into real skill. _She_ was more than half convinced that her hiring was a mixture of outright nepotism, and the fact that having a teacher who went to school overseas probably looked pretty good at Karasuno, but that didn't matter. Her students were her students and she was going to make damn sure they never had a reason to doubt her.

The sunset was already dyeing the sky red, causing impossibly long shadows to stretch across the ground as Rui heaved an exhausted sigh as she headed out of the school gates. She hadn't realized just how hard it was going to be to move on short notice, especially when it was all the way from Tokyo. Especially when she wasn't even able to get back to the city so she could plan things. Not that she regretted her decision, since she finally felt like she could breathe again, but it was giving her a headache. She'd been on the phone every spare moment she had, including all through lunch, but that was proving more difficult than she had thought possible.

 _I'll_ have _to head back to Tokyo during Golden Week,_ she finally decided and brushed black bangs away from her eyes. She already felt exhausted and she still had to walk home. Her parents had offered to let her borrow their car since she didn't have one yet, but since it had been a nice day she had thought a walk would do her good. _Idiot._ She was staying with her parents until the last of her paperwork for her apartment cleared. She was grateful for the help, but she'd gotten used to living on her own. Which was why she had been rushing around finding a place to live while she was working, since actually getting a job here had been completely unplanned. She had only come prepared for a short visit and had spent several days panicking about her wardrobe before she'd found time to go shopping.

Her stomach chose that moment to remind her that she had skipped lunch, and she hadn't bothered to grab a snack before she'd left school. It shocked her out of her thoughts and she stopped walking.

Then she flushed, and felt grateful that at least it had the decency to wait until she was alone. It would have been worse if her students had noticed she'd fallen back onto bad college habits. After all she was supposed to be a responsible adult! A role model! Not someone who got so focused on one thing they forgot to take care of themselves.

Dinner would probably be ready by the time she got home, but now that her attention was on it she was aware of just how _hungry_ she was. When she caught sight of the store along the road she automatically turned and headed towards it. She'd grab a snack to eat on the way back. That should tide her over until she got home to real food.

 _Although I suppose I should count myself lucky I have that waiting for me right now,_ she thought, _I'll be cooking on my own again once I've got the lease settled_ and then didn't even notice the greeting the guy at the counter threw her way, because she'd just realized that even once she had an apartment all her stuff was still back in Tokyo. Including all her cooking supplies.

 _Well cooking supplies, furniture, and_ everything else _too._ She headed towards the back of the store and grabbed a couple riceballs to tide her over. _I'll have to figure out someway to make do until I can get up there and get a hold of a moving company._

There was the vague sound of someone else coming into the store, and then two men talking at the front but it barely registered.

 _Do I know anyone in Tokyo that I could get to start packing up things for me?_ She mused silently. _Rin, maybe? But she would want to be payed and she would probably ask for more than a moving company, or just toss random stuff into boxes if I did decide to pay her…_

She made her way up to the counter with her purchases, still more than half lost in thought.

"Thank you for…" a gruff, familiar voice started to say, but then there was a long pause. "..Rui? Nozomi Rui?"

The sound of her name caused her to snap back to reality and she finally, finally really _looked_ at the man standing behind the counter. For a moment she couldn't place him at all. The bleached blonde hair didn't jog any memories. The eyes though, the face shape and the voice….she _knew_ them. They were lurking in a fog at the back of her mind, as if it had been ages since she'd seen them. And the first thing that popped into her head was Karasuno when she saw him. Why would….

A heartbeat later it suddenly clicked in her mind, and the last sight of him at the airport when they'd said goodbye was as fresh in her memory as if it had happened yesterday, not years ago.

"Keishin-kun?" she said slowly, for a moment feeling as if she was underwater and everything was pressing on her, stealing her breath. "What…" she was about to ask him what he was doing here when she realized just _where_ the hell she was. This was _his_ family's store. It was the one nearest Karasuno, she'd been coming here since high school, had been going past it everyday when she left work. Of course he would be here. "What happened with your hair?"

She said at the last second to avoid sounding like a moron.

"My hair?" Ukai Keishin reached up to touch his scalp unconsciously and gave her a lopsided grin. "Oi, first time we see each other in years and you insult my hair?"

"I didn't say it looked bad. It's just….different," she shot back, feeling herself relaxing a little. It had been what...five years since she'd last heard from Keishin? They'd kept in contact for the first year or so, including through her breakup, but at some point they'd just faded out and...stopped. "Although really, anything would be better than your shaved head."

"Now you are insulting me!"

"No, I'm saying that this is a better look for you. And I used to say that same thing about you shaving your head back then too, so I'm not sure why you're acting surprised."

For a moment Ukai looked annoyed and she almost forgot to breath. It had been years, people changed, maybe she'd pushed the teasing so far. Just when a half-formed apology was on her lips, Keishin broke into one of his grins and gave a gaf of laughter.

"Damn it, you really haven't changed much have you, Rui-chan." he said and it felt as if a weight had fallen from her shoulder. She smiled back almost involuntarily.

"You have though," now that she was calmer, Rui couldn't help noticing that he seemed bigger. Not taller, at least she didn't think that was it, but more filled out when than he had been during their high school graduation. Maybe he was still playing sports. "You look good, Keishin-kun."

"I haven't changed that much," he protested and rub at the back of his neck in embarrassment for a second before looking at her. "Seriously though, I'm really surprised here. I didn't even know you were here town. Hell, I didn't even know you were back in the country! How long are you here for?"

"I moved back to Japan a couple years ago," she said quickly, knowing it wasn't the answer he was looking for but not want to admit that she'd been outright avoiding the one place he was going to be, even though it had been a conscious decision. "I was living in Tokyo though. Just decided to come out here recently."

"Tokyo, eh?" Keishin looked surprised then just grinned at her again and said teasingly,. "so first America, now Tokyo. You're really becoming a sophisticated city girl, ain't you?"

Rui cocked her head to the side and chuckled. " _Sophisticated,_ huh? So I wasn't before?"

"Eh, not really," Ukai chuckled, "more like 'tryin' to be'. You've grown up though." She actually agreed with him a little. She had been pretty bad when she was younger. That didn't mean she wasn't going to let him get away without outright saying it, old friend or not. Before she could even open her mouth to voice the comeback, Keishin was speaking again. "So you here visiting your folks?"

"Ah, not...really," she said slowly suddenly back at the place she had hoped to avoid. Aside from her parents, she hadn't really had to explain why she'd come all the way back here. Most people seemed to accept that she was back, but Keishin had been there when she was leaving. She didn't want to know what he would think if she told him why exactly she had to leave the big city.

Thankfully she was spared that. Someone, very politely, cleared their throat from off to her right, and both of them turned to look automatically. She had forgotten that she'd heard someone else come into the store until that second. When she saw who it was she nearly jumped.

"Takeda-sensei?" she found herself saying slowly. She hadn't expected to see _any_ of her cowokers here. Especially one of the teachers that she had just meet, and one of the few that didn't know any embarrassing stories from when she was still a student.

"Noizumi-sensei," he said in his usual bright way but held his hands up and waved them a bit nervously. "Hello! Sorry, I didn't mean to listen in! I was just surprised that you and Ukai-kun knew each other and didn't want to interrupt."

She started a little and shrugged. "We were friends in highschool," she said, and glanced over Keishin automatically. He was looking back and forth between her and Takeda-sensei his eyes wide. Then he raised a hand and pointed at her.

"Sensei?"he drew it out, as if the word was some mysterious phrase he had never heard before.

Slowly she nodded. "Yeah," she said, realizing that somehow she had never thought to mention to her major when they'd still been talking. "Got my teaching certificate."

Takeda had been watching them and smiled a little. "She's working up at Karasuno now," he offered before she could stop him. "The students really seem to have taken to her!"

Normally she would have been beyond thrilled by, since she was worried that the other teachers thought she was being overly familiar with the students instead of acting like a teacher, but right now she wished Takeda-sensei hadn't said anything.

"What?" Keishin yelped and looked at her wided-eyed. "You hadn't said anythin' about that!"

"I hadn't had a chance to bring it up!" Rui protested. "First time we've seen each other in eight years, remember?" She hadn't really tried to reach out to anyone she'd known before she left, aside from her (now) coworkers up a the school. Not that she hadn't thought about it, but she just couldn't shake the feeling that coming back home was running away. Having to admit that to anyone, especially people she had grown up with, was kind of terrifying

"Sorry, did I say something I shouldn't have?" Takeda-sensei was looking between them anxiously.

Rui quickly shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she told her coworker quickly as she glanced back at Keishin. He had his arm crossed, looking as if he was thinking deeply about something.

"Sensei, huh?" he said slowly, dragging the word out before opening his eyes and grinning at her. "It suits you," he said honestly. "You always did have that habit of meddlin' with people."

"Seriously?" she stared then gave him a flat look. "I feel like I should be saying 'thanks' to that, even though I'm not sure it's a compliment."

"'Course it's a compliment!" Keishin snapped back at her. "What else would you call it?"

Rui couldn't help crossing her own arms and raising an eyebrow at him. "Most people wouldn't call meddling a compliment."

"I meant it in a good way!"

By now Takeda-sensei was glancing back and forth between the looking worried, but Rui barely noticed. Instead she just steadily met the glare that Keishin was aiming at her. Then suddenly his lips were quirking back up into a smile, she couldn't help smiling back, and laughter was bubbling up through her lips before she knew it as she heard Keishin chuckling. Okay, well, it was more _giggling_ but she was a grown-ass woman and above giggling. If anyone one caught her at it she was going to deny it. She didn't really know what was so funny, just that it was and it was like being back in highschool again.

"Rui," Keishin wheezed slightly, once they had calmed back down. "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back," Rui said after a slight pause, surprised by how wholeheartedly she meant it. It just felt _right._

"I guess this mean you'll be sticking around for a while then?"

Rui couldn't help letting herself relax juuust a little more, and dropping the professional attitude she tried to put on in school. It was Keishin. Not like he was going to care, not when he had known her for so long. "Well, since I don't have any plans to leave…."

Keishin chuckled. "Then welcome home Rui," he said, and tossed her purchases into a bag that he held out to her. "Here, no charge this time."

She hesitated for a second, trying to sort through the warm feelings that those simple words had brought on. _Welcome home_ was such a small thing it shouldn't have felt like ,for a moment, something was squeezing her heart so hard it was hard to breathe. "You really don't have to do that," she said out loud. Taking handouts wasn't something she felt she had fallen low enough to do.

"Come on don't be shy. You never have been before," the teasing smile he was wearing reminded her of all the times back in high school when he'd snuck something out of the store only to get yelled at by his parents. "Call it a welcome back gift if you want. And it's rude to refuse a gift."

She tried to ignore his little smile for a bit but then sighed and took the bag from him. "Fine, just don't…" A loud insistent buzz from her phone cut off her words, and caused her to jump. "Sorry, just give me a sec," she said quickly. When she flicked open her phone, she found a text from her father, telling her he had news about her apartment and to come home how. She looked back up at Keishin apologetically. "Sorry. I have to get going."

And she really was sorry. She wanted to hang around and talk a bit more. It was weird, really. She'd been all but avoiding social contact outside of her job since she'd been hired, and hadn't realized just how much she missed it until now. Especially when it was with a friend that, she realized, probably was not going to judge her as much as she had feared.

"I'm still workin' anyway, so it's probably a good thing," Keishin shrugged but still gave her one of his wide grins. "But you're gonna have to let me take you out to drink sometime so we can catch up."

"I'll have to take you up on that," she chuckled and glanced at her phone again. "When do you want to meet up then?" Between getting settled and school, she wasn't sure when she would have a day off, but she could probably find time after one day. Suddenly she wanted that, just a moment to relax and _talk_.

Keishin just pulled out his phone. "Here, just take my number, and text me when you have time. You're still getting settled in, right?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "I didn't think moving cities would be this complicated."

"You're gonna have to tell me about it," Keishin said easily. She would have said more in answer to that, but her phone gave another ping signalling a text message, and reminding her that she really didn't have time to talk.

Still, she left the store a little later with Keishin's phone number and feeling more settled than she had in a long while. Maybe it was only a small thing, but finally having a _connection_ to someone here really made her feel like she _was_ home.


End file.
